


Date With Destiny

by Jeenius_the_Dork



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Marin is my dream girl too, aww look at Legend all flustered, existential crisis mode activate, lmao shit rip all of those previous tags in chapter 2, look at these happy babies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2020-04-08 11:53:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19106563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeenius_the_Dork/pseuds/Jeenius_the_Dork
Summary: Legend and Marin spend some time together





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> UWU it's me.

For a very long moment they sat on the log in silence. The squawks of the seagulls and rolling waves filled the uncomfortable silence. As someone who was currently going through his  _ fourth _ quest to save the world Legend wasn’t expecting  _ this _ to be the thing that instilled pure, unfathomable fear in him.

 

Gigantic world ending pig demons? Sure a little worrying but he had a sword and shield in his hands. Same with the monsters swarming every world and kingdom he’d ever travelled through. But this. This was something he had yet to understand.

 

She was speaking, but the words weren’t really registering in his head. If he wasn’t so  _ nervous _ maybe he would be able to actually listen to Marin. He was a holder of the Triforce of Courage. A hero of Hyrule, Holodrum and Labrynna (even if it was kind of overwhelming to have so many titles like that at his young age of 17)  _ Why was he so nervous? _

 

Marin was his friend. His incredibly nice and pretty friend who had an amazing singing voice. His friend who spiked an unnecessary amount of anxiety attempting to talk to her, drastically increased his heart rate and made his palms sweaty. The friend he wanted to take back to Hyrule because he thought she was really nice.

 

His really,  _ really _ good friend who made him stumble over his words, or lose the ability to speak in general.

 

“Hey are you listening? Are you listening to me Link?” Marin asked.

 

The young hero’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat, much like how he nearly leapt off his seat. Shoot how was he supposed to tell her no without disappointing her too much? 

 

“Y-yeah Seagulls are cool.” he stuttered out. 

 

Haha, what the literal hell was that? Was she even talking about seagulls? Sweet Hylia he should stop talking right now and never speak again, he was just proving himself to be a bigger idiot in front of this cute island girl as time passed.

 

When Marin giggled at his response Legend wanted to just sink into the depths of the sand and never come reemerge. He was sure his internal screaming could be heard all the way to Hyrule, the furthest corners of Labrynna and Holodrum. He was a hero, why the literal fuck was he so...mushy...and distracted by her (He could say fuck right? He was 17 he could totally say fuck).

 

Oh no he wasn’t...oh  **_no_ ** . He physically did not have the time for this. He needed to think more about saving Koholint Island before his feelings. His suspicions better not be correct.

 

Nah they were probably wrong. He wasn’t exactly the most in tune with his emotions, especially after everything, so he was probably overreacting. He just needed to focus on being the hero, needed to just calm his mind and think about going through dungeons and taking down monsters.

 

This...this could wait until later.

 

Legend let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding in. He could do this. Take Marin to Animal Village, wake up the walrus and be on his way. Nothing else. 

 

“Oh the walrus wants to me go to him? Alright I’ll go with you.” Marin said. Oh that’s cool, he was probably talking to himself out loud again. Very cool.

 

~~ It was totally cool. He didn’t care about making a fool of himself anymore. ~~

 

He could practically hear a narrator’s voice saying  _ You got Marin. Could this be your big chance? _ Thanks random narrator voice, he really needed that right now. This wasn’t a date, he was just helping his friend get to Animal Village safely.

 

**_It’s not a date._ **

 

What was supposed to be a quick trip to Animal Village diverted extremely quickly. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t actually leading Marin anywhere, if anything she was the one leading him to Animal Village. He was simply driving monsters away if they got too close  ~~ Marin ~~ them. 

 

When they should have been at least in Mabe Village, Legend found himself looked over a cliff of Toronbo Shores towards the gulls flying over the ocean once more. The photographer mouse, that damn photographer, managed to snap a picture of them as Marin gleefully grabbed onto his hands, excitedly commenting about how this was their first walk together. That the cliff could be their secret place.

 

Honestly the more Marin spoke the harder it was to convince himself he  _ wasn’t _ currently on a date.

 

Eventually he just decided to throw all caution aside and allowed himself to have a good time and be dragged along by Marin around the village. Even though he was on yet another world saving adventure he was allowed to act his own age and have fun. It’s not like he really got to do that before, not since saving Zelda the first time. And to see Marin so happy while showing him around the island without him thinking about the looming threat over Koholint was enough for him.

 

He could worry about the large spotted pink egg on the top of the mountain. He could worry about the increasingly powerful nightmares and their cryptic words spoken to him as he bested them in battle. He could remind himself how Tarin reminded him of his deceased Uncle. There were so many things he could worry about, but to see Marin smile he’d ignore it.

 

It was all worth it.

 

-

 

Contrary to popular belief Tarin was pretty in tune with his surroundings. He could see both his daughter and the strange boy she’d pulled from the ocean, Link, were both vehemently denying their feelings. Marin tried to laugh it off whenever he poked fun at her, and Link was clearly trying to repress his feelings for the sake of the island.

 

So it was nice to see them both enjoying themselves. Especially the boy. That boy carried behind him a heavy past, one Tarin and Marin were afraid to ask about. But Tarin could assume the worst. Link was the same age as his daughter, shipwrecked with nothing but a sword and shield, and he  **_knew_ ** how to use it. 

 

Now it could possibly be due to the fact for the most part Koholint Island was pretty peaceful. It could be because the threat of the monsters only seemed to show up when Link showed up, but Tarin  **_knew_ ** someone as young as Link should not be able to use a sword that well, even if he was from a far off land.

 

He’d been so serious about finding his sword on the beach, immediately going out for it right after waking up. The boy had almost drowned and…

 

And he didn’t really belong on the island did he? Link needed to go home one day. Looking towards Tal Tal Heights Tarin could see the large egg sitting on top of the mountain. The Wind fish was waiting to be awoken by the chosen hero. The day Link left may be coming sooner than he expected.

 

Ah, now they were back at the weather vane. Marin convinced Link to pull out his ocarina and play a song for her. It started off as Ballad of the Wind Fish. Marin made some comment towards him that sent Link into a loud stuttery mess. Marin and her teasin, it was a habit she definitely picked up from him.

 

When the photographer appeared out of nowhere Tarin took this as his opportunity to jump in. It would annoy Marin for sure, but it’d all be worth it. For the sake of her and the boy. Neither of them knew the truth yet. It was probably better to keep it that way.

 

“Are you taking a picture? Can I join in?” Tarin asked, squeezing himself in between Link and Marin before flashing a peace sign as the camera snapped.

 

She’d get to keep these memories for now…

 

-

 

By nearly nightfall, Legend and Marin made it to Animal Village. Within moments her animal friends surrounded them, hopping up and down excitedly (quite literally in the case of the rabbit). “Little Marin is here!!”

 

“Well, Link, let’s give that silly walrus a good scare.” Marin said with a wink and a sneaky grin. Twirling around Marin marched off in the direction of the walrus. 

 

Stopping just in front of the walrus, Marin’s beautiful singing voice filled the air. The sound of the Ballad nearly immediately woke the walrus. The animal hopped around happily before falling off the cliff into the water. Honestly it would be nice if the Wind Fish itself woke up this easily. But, uh...hopefully it was alright…

 

Haha just kidding the walrus had a really creepy obsession with Marin. It deserved it.

 

“Well, Link today’s been fun. I think I should stay here for a while with the animals.” she took a few steps back towards the village before turning back around. “I...stay safe, Link.”

 

He didn’t really know what compelled him to suddenly hug her. He let his guard down too much. This was Ralph all over again.

 

...wait a minute what?

 

“I will. You stay safe too.” he said, releasing Marin and finger gunning at her as he walked backwards towards Yarna Desert. Once out of sight he turned around with a look of pure  **_Fear™_ ** . 

 

“What the fuck did I just do?” he whispered to himself.

 

-

 

**_TO THE FINDER... THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION... HUMAN, MONSTER, SEA, SKY... A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKE THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE... CASTAWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!_ **

 

Illusion...She wasn’t real. None of them were real.

 

The sword slipped from his hand, clattering on the ground. He read the words of the tablet over three times, just in case he was wrong. He wished they were wrong, that he was being fooled in some elaborate prank. 

 

Sadly he was mistaken. Koholint Island was nothing but a dream.


	2. Date with destiny 2: electric boogaloo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh how fun, they're going on another date.

Something about Link changed within the past few days. Marin already knew he was strange but this was more unusual than his usual normally silent demeanour. Whereas before he still had a playful spirit, he seemed nervous over something. 

 

She knew he visited the Face Shrine, among other undeniably dangerous dungeons. No one ever seemed to be brave enough to enter the shrine, the path to it was blocked off by armos knights and the shrine itself was guarded by a Giant Armos. No one knew what actually lay inside the Southern Face Shrine, and somehow she felt like there was a good reason for that.

 

Or perhaps it was because no one was actually interested enough. They were happy living in their perfect happy little world, without a care. Though monsters were invading Koholint, none of them ever entered the villages. It was too...easy? Perfect? Marin had no idea how to describe it.

 

She also didn’t have much time to think about it either, once more the animals were begging her to sing the Ballad of the Windfish. Now, Marin cared deeply for her animal friends and she absolutely lived singing but it was a little too much for her sometimes. Her voice did get tired and she wasn’t sure the animals really understood that.

 

A little ways outside the village Marin heard the  _ wooshing _ sound of a warp point. There was only one person who actually used those so the island girl peeled up a little. Sure enough, Link appeared moments later with the shuffling of his Pegasus boots.

 

That was another strange thing about Link, he seemed to like using the Pegasus boots to get everywhere, even if he did run into a wall or two. It was understandable that he wanted to leave the island quickly, he wasn’t from Koholint. Link just wanted to go home. But to be completely honest, Marin would be lying if she said it was disappointing. 

 

She wanted to spend more time with him, Marin wanted to know everything about Link. Where he  _ did _ come from, why he was so skilled with his sword. Marin just wanted to know, as embarrassing as it sounded. She really liked Link, but she didn’t know if it was because he came from some mysterious far away place or maybe...a ha never mind. That was silly to even imagine.

 

Link had to go home soon, that was a fact she had to face. No matter how much she liked him, nothing would make him stay.

 

Speaking of, Link’s expression was more unreadable than normal. He shuffled up to Marin, fiddling with the hilt of his sword. Or, well, his new sword. When did he get that sword? It looked stronger than the last one somehow. There were no blacksmiths on the island, that she knew of.

 

Absolutely aware she was purposefully distracting herself from looking at Link she giggled nervously. He didn’t look like he wanted to hear her sing so what exactly did Link want?

 

“Marin do you...want to go on another walk with me? I...there’s something I think you should see.” Link’s voice wavered. Now, she did her best to hide her surprise. That was the most Link had ever spoken to her, or at all. Link nearly never spoke. And it showed, his voice so shaky and it seemed to be a large effort on his part asking her to walk with him.

 

Their first walk was something she knew she’d never forget. It was so nice seeing Link as  _ Link _ rather than some kind of hero. And it was something she could feel he appreciated so much. For half of it, she’d felt like he was holding back on having pure childish fun with her because he had some sort of duty to save everyone. While he was doing a lot to help them with the infestation of monsters, he was still 17. He wasn’t any older than she was. That was a lot of pressure to put on someone for so long.

 

The hardest thing for her to grasp was that there was a reason why he felt this way. There was something telling her he’d felt this long before their walk. It only made her want to know where Link came from more. The only way she’d ever find out was if she continued to spend time with him.

 

There were no downsides to this she could see right now.

 

“I’d love to go with you Link!”

 

-

 

Their second walk went far differently than the first. Link always kept his hand near either his sword or boomerang while the other held onto her hand, keeping her as close as possible. They walked in complete silence, while this was normal for him it wasn’t the usual “mysterious” kind of quiet. It was more unnerving that what she was used to. This was Link, the silent swordsman rather than her friend Link.

 

He led her towards the Ancient Ruins, keeping his eyes forward. Link had been to the Shrine before, and knew what lay inside. He’d journeyed through the ruins unlike any other person on the island.

 

Marin heard stories about how strong the Armos knights guarding the path were. They blended in with regular statues, masking which was an enemy and what wasn’t. No one dared oppose them. So watching Link quickly dispose of the knights as if they were nothing was both amazing and absolutely terrifying.

 

It raised the burning question once more, who exactly was Link? 

 

Once they’d reached the entrance to the Shrine, Link hesitated. To be honest Marin was thankful for that. There was something begging her not to go inside, to stay outside and wait for him. Monsters littered their once peaceful island, the shrine wouldn’t be left out of this. She was sure of it. 

 

“This wasn’t a good idea. Let’s just go back now.” Link decided, seemingly ready to go back the way they came, yet still he remained in place.

 

She wasn’t fooled. If he really wanted to leave they wouldn’t still be there. Whatever was in the shrine was important enough Link wanted her to see it, despite his words saying otherwise. If it was monsters he already knew she had complete faith in him he’d be able to defend himself and by extension her. She’d already seen it before she knew what he was capable of. 

 

“You know even if we go back to the village I may just come back here on my own.” Marin said.

 

Link sighed, slouching in defeat. “I know. It’s not that the shrine’s  _ dangerous _ , Marin. It’s just...whatever. Nevermind you’ll figure it out anyways.”

 

Into the dimly lit shrine they went. It was actually much smaller on the inside than she expected. A large dented shield lay on the floor. Unlike the walls, the shield wasn’t covered in dust, meaning it was recently left behind. Whatever carried the shield was gigantic, and long gone.

 

And Marin had a sneaking suspicion she knew why exactly that was. Link. 

 

He led her down the short hallway into an ever darker room, seemingly empty besides the two unlit torches and a mural she could barely make out through the dark. As Link used his magic power to light the room, Marin moved forward. There were no other pathways or doors in the room. This is where it left them. The mural was what Link wanted Marin to see.

 

On first glance, she could see a faded drawing of the Wind fish flying over an empty ocean. An owl could be seen close the Wind fish. The most important part of the mural, she quickly realised, were the words on the wall. It read as a prophecy for a castaway, saying they should know the truth.

 

“The island of Koholint is...but a dream…”

 

If everything on the island, the humans, even the monsters, was a dream that would mean she was included. She was never real. Just a fragment of a sleeping whale who’d fade away when it was the inevitable time for it to wake up. Yet somehow, somewhere deep down, Marin felt like she’d always knows that. 

 

Before the monsters, everything about the island had always felt so perfect. It was the ideal place to live. Everyone was so friendly and all lived seemingly perfect lives. No one except her every thought about what was outside the borders of their peaceful island, or every considered leaving. They never believed in a life outside the island. And apparently this was why.

 

There wasn’t much of a way to leave the island if the island never really existed. When monsters showed up, no one seemed all that concerned, they continued their daily life as if nothing was happening at all. The monsters never invaded the villages so what was the point of panicking? Link could defeat them easily if it ever came to that, but it only begged the question once more, were the monsters so easily defeated because none of them were real either? 

 

Besides all that, her desire to become a seagull and see the world only sparked after Link had washed ashore on the island. Once she’d wondered where he came from, and how he washed upon the Toronbo Shores . It didn’t really matter in hindsight anymore and yet still, she wanted to see the waking world still. Despite knowing she wasn’t real she wanted to travel through the skies as a seagull spreading her song to everyone.

 

If she wished hard enough, maybe her wish would come true.

 

It made sense why Link was so reluctant for her to see this now. He must have been horrified realising every single person he’d come to be friends with on the island were going to get wiped out of existence when the Wind fish woke up. Link cared a lot more than he liked to let on about people. It was likely he would stay that way too, even after this. He acted like those stories about heroes Tarin used to tell her as a child. 

 

And it finally dawned on her. The entire reason why Link was so skilled in what he did, and was able to save their island from the monsters was because he was the hero of another land. Somewhere out there they were waiting for their hero to return home. Which only frustrated her more because he was so  _ young. _ It was a responsibility he shouldn’t have yet, no matter how skilled he actually was. It didn’t matter  _ how _ many times it happened, the fact that it was spoke volumes about him. Finally she could make sense of why he was acting so strangely on their first walk.

 

“Marin. Are you alright?” Link asked.

 

“Are you still going to wake the Wind fish?” Marin asked in response. It wasn’t the response Link was expecting at all. The noise that came out of his mouth was something close to a squeaking, choked mouse watching as the piece of cheese in front of it turned out to be nothing more than a piece of plastic from a children’s board game. 

 

To that thought Marin had to say...what the literal fuck? Who...who even would say something like that? Apparently her now? Strange metaphors aside, Link found enough power to regain his coherency.

 

“You’re just...accepting it? You believe it’s real?” he asked.

 

“I don’t have any reason to believe otherwise. The question is, do  _ you _ believe it? Because to me it seems like you brought me here to convince yourself the island is real.” Marin replied.

 

Judging by his silence she knew she was right in a sense. His eyes fell upon the mural once again. She could see it in his eyes. How he tried to remain calm rereading the words on the wall, not even he knew what to believe. 

 

Maybe she was the weird one believing it so quickly.

 

“I don’t know anymore. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. I don’t even know if I’m real anymore Marin. What if I died at sea and this is just my own personal hell?” As he ranted, Link began to pace around the room gesturing wildly with his hands. “It’d make sense since in all my time being the hero of Hyrule I definitely never saw anything like this before. The monsters  _ talk _ Marin. They’ve been talking to me.”

 

Marin didn’t even have time to consider that she finally knew where Link came from and why he was so skilled at fighting monsters. Though she wanted to know she sure as hell didn’t want it to be while Link was panicking. Knowing she had to do something to help Link, Marin pushed aside her own feelings over being real or part of someone’s dream. Link was a far more important matter.

 

“Well what if it’s not? I don’t think a dream would  _ tell _ you that it was if it seemed so real to you before? Right?” she asked.

 

And that got him quietly thinking. Good. Even if she didn’t believe it, if Link believed he truly was in his own reality, and Koholint wasn’t a dream that was good enough. “There’s no real way to know unless you wake the Windfish.”

 

But Marin didn’t really believe that, did she? She’d wondered before if she made a wish to the Windfish, would it come true? Now it seemed a lot more like if Link woke the Windfish, the island would disappear and he would awaken in his world. So what would happen if she woke the Windfish herself?

 

Maybe she was getting too far ahead of herself.

 

Obviously, Link wasn’t entirely convinced with her suggestion. If he had been she would have called him an idiot. It was something she knew he’d consider and if anything, getting him back into the dungeons and finishing the job would be worth it. And at the same time, maybe she could test out her own little theory on her own.

 

First things first, though, no more lurking around in the dark chilly shrine with the existential crisis mural. Marin took hold of Link’s hand and practically hauled him out of Southern Face Shrine.

 

The journey back to Mabe Village was silent. It wasn’t until the town tool shop was in sight until Link finally spoke. “Let’s keep what we saw in the shrine a secret...like the cliff.” 

 

Somehow she thought he already knew she wouldn’t dream of spilling that secret to anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we really out here saying fuck editing and good content rights at the end there, aren't we?
> 
> fuck shit i forgot about context: basically this idea came upon me when i was playing LA Switch and "accidentally" brought Marin over to Southern Face Shrine. And so Linni, Anna and like a few other people i cant remember right now basically created this hellspawn of an idea. :) have fun


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